We still have problems with the offense.Some people are saying to heck with passer rating lets go back to the run run offense.Alot of good that will do against top teams.Seattle exposed us when we did that.the problem is the receivers are not geting fown field,vick is taking to long to read the defense and alot of his pass were caught by running backs.The WCO offense allows that alot of completions to running backs but also are receivers aren't Rice or taylor but we are not getting the completions for intermediate to big gains thanks to the knapp offense.

DEFENSE wins championships and while there are problems with the offense it will be the defense that determines the fate of this team.

Lets look at who we've played. 1/Philly scored only 14 pts def gave up 10 pts ..philly has a one dimensional offense which the rest of the NFL knows 2.Seattle 18 pts scored 21 given up loss...wheres the defense at against a better team 3.Buffalo score 24 pts gave up 16 pts ..buffalo can't even play 500 4.minnesota score 30 pts defense gave up 10 5.Patriots score 28 pts gave up 31 the defense is exposed since most of the teams played till then are below 500.The defense gets picked apart against top elite QB's 6.Saints score 34 pts gave up 31 lucky win still way to many pts given up against a below average team 7.Jets score 27 pts gave up 14 pts - jets didn't have a QB to pick the defense apart 8.Miami score 17 pts gave up 10 miami is a weak team what do you expect 9.Packers score 25 gave up 33 pts lose to a 1-7 team again the defense is exposed and can't stop the run and gets picked apart by a top elite QB

Folks DEFENSE wins championships.The offense has more pressure to score because the defense can't do its job.The Falcon offense if it continues to play poor defense will need to average over 30 pts a game to win in the playoffs.We don't have the fire power for it since we love to dink dunk passes.The main problems are Defense and offense getting our routes to be longer.If Knapp would do that when Vick does run he can pick up more yards.Lavalias needs to be benched! He is to weak and overal the run defense is atrocious!

_________________Sometimes running the Mularkey offense makes me feel like I'm in a prison.

I agree. But not every team is blessed with a top Defense.Atlanta definitely hasn't been all year.

Solutions? Offensively, I agree with longer pass attempts. I think that part of the short passes are Vick's slow reads. The other parts are baby steps being implemented into the offense. This is partly a progression of Vick. I wouldn't be surprised to see more downfield attempts by the end of the year.

I'm one of those "run" homers. Against a D like Seattle or even Green Bay (where it's hard to run to setup the pass), use the deeper threat to keep the safeties off the line (tonight, I heard a CB make a runstop at the line of scrimmage). The Falcons also have to limit the penalties & sacks. It's hard enough to establish a ground game against a good run defense. Atlanta didn't handle drives with penalties/sacks well against Green Bay. And it handcuffs the offense from dominating with the run. Vick's good performance today was marred by not handling the blitz too well (I heard the game on the radio. I don't know how often GB blitzed. But when the announcers mentioned it, bad things happened.)

Defensively, I'm not so astute. The defense has been a "bend but don't break" type so far all year. And a good opposing QB will break it more than not. Good news was the 3 or 4 field goal attempts by GB. With turnovers and a short field, that's not a bad stat.

I was surprised that Atlanta didn't get more pressure on Favre at the Dome. I think Farve managed quick releases well to keep the pressure off. And having a ground game with that helped as well.

The corners and defense also appears to play a very soft coverage. I think that this is just playing to the defenses weaknesses (the secondary isn't good enough to bump and run or play more aggressively).

Worst of all, is that Atlanta hasn't really be able to stop a running game all year.

I don't know. Defensively, I see the problems. But I don't know the solutions. Personnel change may help. Maybe a more aggressive scheme with more blitzes (and just see if the secondary can survive).

In the end, Atlanta needs to learn to score more. It's easier to control the playcalling and Atlanta's offense than it will be to improve the Atlanta run defense (Atlanta can't take advantage of time of possession with the run defense that they've had all year).

Not meaning to become Mr. Obvious, allow me to throw out a few tried and true, overused sports phrases:

It's a team game.

Whoever scores the most points wins.

They came to play sixty minutes and we didn't.

Point one, it's a team game. When the offense goes three and out all game long, it gives the other offense the chance to score points more often. It also causes your defense to come back on the field before they have had adequate time to rest. The defense wears down faster and gives up the big play, points on the board.

Whoever scores the most...blah, blah, blah...allow me to throw out another over used phrase. The BEST defense is a Good offense. When your offense is on the field, your defense is not. "How obvious" you say, as you slap yourself on the head. If our defense is not on the field, we are not likely to give up points. Except, in the case of a fumble, interception or a three and out. As long as the offense is making yards and getting first downs, you don't have to worry about giving up points, They Do.

They came to play sixty minutes...and from the moment i saw the reverse to Roddy White, where three db's tracked him down, I knew this team was not taking this game AT ALL seriously. He looked like he was jogging. This guy has so much speed and he looked slow. This team did not come into this game expecting a challenge from Green Bay. They thought Favre and Co. would be a pushover.

Suffice it to say, the play calling sucked. The defense was left on the field too often for too long and they began to suck. Vick was blitzed from play one and he looked peewee. They constantly ran the Dunn to the right play all effing game long and gues what...it worked once. They went to the left fade way too many times, and when they needed it most, Crumpler was stopped on the line of scrimmage right as he got the ball. They forgot about TJ Duckett, who ran all over the defenders in the second half of the game...shades of Reeves, if it works, drop it in the second half because you need to outthink yourself and quit doing what works...HUH, WTF?!

These guys constantly outguess themselves and play right into the hands of the opponents. Seattle, New England, Green Bay. All the games look just the same. Don't do what works, try the trick plays because they just effing look cool on ESPN.

Regarding failed drives by the Falcons:Every time the Falcons punted, they had either a penalty or sack on that set of downs. The other failed drives were caused by fumbles.

Easy solution to holding the ball. 1) Limit the penalties on the offensive side of the ball (illegal shifts, false start, passing beyond line of scrimmage).2) Don't Fumble3) Protect the QB

If the Falcons can do these things, they will be allowed to run the ball more. And punish the opposing Defenses.

If the Falcons can hold the clock, then maybe (but probably not) their Defense will be fresh enough to attack the opposing teams rushing game. Allow the short passes & try to jump on the opposing teams mistakes. If the Falcons take away Green Bay's running game, they'd win.

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